New York Heat Wave Nears Sweaty Peak as Northwest Highs Ease

(Bloomberg) -- Temperatures in New York and the Northeast will soar again Wednesday, while the heat wave in the western U.S. and Canada is easing after causing blackouts and several deaths.

In New York, where the utility Consolidated Edison Inc. renewed requests for customers to conserve power Wednesday, Central Park is forecast to reach 96 degrees Fahrenheit (36 Celsius) with humidity that would make it feel more like 100 or 105. Boston could hit 97 Wednesday before the Northeast starts cooling, the National Weather Service said.

“One more day of heat and humidity,” said Nelson Vaz, a weather service meteorologist in Upton, New York. “We will have isolated to scattered, possibly severe, thunderstorms late today into this evening that is the first sign of the heat breaking.”

The cooling on both coasts follows record Northwest heat linked to climate change that triggered rolling outages, buckled roads and halted trams -- underscoring increased risk of extreme weather events. Lytton, British Columbia -- a region of glacier-fed rivers -- reached 121, Canada’s third-straight record, while Vancouver police reported a wave of heat deaths.

The Northwest heat prompted President Joe Biden to call for a more resilient power grid. He is meeting Wednesday with governors from Western states anxious about another summer of wildfires, drought and power failures. They will discuss preparations, as well as using new technology to detect blazes and alert residents, according to an administration official.

In New York, ConEd asked its 3.5 million customers in the area “to conserve energy and help keep service reliable” as increased power flowing through the system can overheat equipment and lead to outages, according to a statement. The utility projected demand Wednesday to reach 12,300 megawatts, exceeding last year’s peak of 11,740 megawatts.

Other power officials in the Eastern U.S. have also called for reduced use or warned about potential supply shortfalls, pushing electricity prices higher.

U.S. natural gas futures rose for a seventh straight day, the longest streak since 2017, as heat boosted energy demand and speculation that inventories will be tight ahead of winter.

Heat warnings and advisories stretch from New Jersey to Maine, as well as across the Northwest, reaching into Montana and California. Environment Canada has posted heat warnings across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and up the Mackenzie River nearly to the Arctic circle in the west, plus New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in the east.

Read more: U.S. Cooling Demand Forecast 14 Degree Days More Than Normal

The hot weather that blankets much of the U.S. is forecast to continue cooling through the end of the week. Thursday’s high in Central Park will be 80 and then 76 by Sunday, the weather service said. The Fourth of July weekend will likely start gray and rainy.

Later Wednesday, Massachusetts may see severe thunderstorms that can bring hail and damaging winds to an area home to about 7 million people, according to the U.S. Storm Prediction Center. In the West, parts of California, Oregon, Nevada, and Idaho could have dry lightning storms, which can cause wildfires.

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